Film ***

Like Robin Williams and Jim Carrey before him, Adam Sandler
is a funnyman who continues to venture into more dramatic territory now and
again. His past dramatic efforts, Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish,
resulted in some of his best work. But not even the promise he showed in those
two films will quite prepare you for his performance in Reign Over Me,
which is unquestionably his strongest performance yet.

Add to the mix an equally heartfelt performance from Don
Cheadle and some good intelligent writing courtesy of writer/director Mike
Binder (The Upside of Anger), and you’ve got a top-notch dramatic film at
hand. True, it’s a bit predictable in some places, but the richness of Binder’s
characters and the deeply involving emotional material make up for that. For
once, this is “tearjerker” that doesn’t feel so manipulative, unlike Sandler’s
last movie, the way overrated Click (the depressing drama masquerading as
a comedy).

The film opens in on Alan Johnson (Cheadle), a NYC dentist
who’s made a good life for himself. One day, Alan spots an old friend of his
riding on a scooter. The friend, Charlie Fineman (Sandler), doesn’t seem to
remember Alan from their college days, which leaves Alan puzzled.

Before long, it becomes clear to Alan that Charlie has
become somewhat disillusioned with reality. Not only does Charlie not
acknowledge his friendship with Alan, but he also seems to have distance himself
from just about everything in his past. Everything, that is, before 9/11 when
Charlie’s wife and kids were killed in one of the plane crashes.

So Alan takes it upon himself to form a bond with Charlie
to rekindle their friendship, as well secretly help him through a healing
process. But as Alan soon finds out, it’s not going to be easy. Whenever he
brings up certain issues like family or Charlie even being single, Charlie snaps
in an emotional rage. He refuses to go near a therapist, but Alan still finds
reason enough to strike up a bond with his former friend, as it may be the only
means of healing available.

And Charlie does respond to the male bonding. He repeatedly
tracks down Alan at both his office and home. Eventually, the two are having
late night jam sessions at Charlie’s apartment, playing video games, making
trips to the local vinyl record store and even attending an all night Mel Brooks
film festival at a nearby theater. In the process, Alan begins to rediscover his
own humanity, though before long his wife (Jada Pinkett Smith) starts to
question how her husband is handling his priorities.

Even though the film represents a dramatic revelation for
Sandler, the first half of the film does require him to engage in some of the
type of behavior we’re used to seeing in his comedies. But what writer/director
Binder has done here is unique in that it serves as a way for Charlie to neglect
his true emotions before letting it all out in the film’s powerful second half.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a character let loose emotions as a result
of therapy, but Sandler’s heartbreaking scene where he must accept the past is
one of the most real and wrenching ones I’ve ever seen, and the timing of it is
just right.

The film also makes room for some good supporting work as
well. At first, the idea of Liv Tyler playing a therapist didn’t register with
me (that maybe because Ms. Tyler is so distractingly beautiful in every movie
she’s in), but I was totally wrong as she is thoroughly believable and delivers
a strong performance with precious little screen time. One of my small
complaints is that I think she deserved even more screen time. Donald Sutherland
does a fine job in the concluding portion of the film as a court judge, as does
Mike Binder himself, also playing a therapist.

The one thing about the film that keeps it from being great
is a subplot at the beginning of the film that doesn’t need to be in the film,
and has a somewhat strange resolution. It involves a female patient of Alan’s
named Donna (Saffron Burrows), who threatens to accuse him of sexual harassment
after she tried to make a move on him during an appointment. For some unknown
reason, she makes her way back into the story late in the film and Alan even
suggest her as a potential girlfriend for Charlie. It’s an unnecessary portion
of an otherwise very strong film.

Reign Over Me is an emotional drama done the right
way. It’s intelligent, heartfelt, and superbly acted. And no matter how many
future dramatic projects Adam Sandler tackles, it will be seriously hard to top
his revealing work here. And that’s saying quite a lot following something like
Punch Drunk Love.

Lastly, I should mention that the classic Who song “Love
Reign O’er Me” is featured in the film, both in its original recording as well
as a stunning cover by Pearl Jam.

Video ***1/2

This is quite a strong
looking presentation from Sony. I was caught off guard a bit when it seemed that
certain scenes appeared to be shot in high-def video while others appeared in
traditional form. At any rate, the anamorphic picture is very much top of the
line, with nice detail, persistent clarity and good use of colors.

Audio ***

The film is dialogue
driven and nothing more, though the 5.1 mix does come alive in certain scenes
involving music. The jam session scene provides a dose of powerful sound, and
the many songs in the film are delivered terrifically. Dialogue delivery is, of
course, clear as a bell!

Features **

Included on this disc is a featurette titled “Behind the
Reign: The Making of Reign Over Me”, which features interviews (mostly with Mike
Binder) concerning the making of the film. Also there is a photo montage called
“A Still Reign”, an extended jam session sequence with Sandler and Cheadle, and
bonus previews for additional Sony releases.

Summary:

Reign Over
Me is a
winning character based drama, with emotional aspects that for once doesn’t feel
manipulative, unlike so many dramas. Sandler delivers his strongest acting work
to date, and the rest of the cast is equally strong.